Electric submersible pumps (ESPs) may be deployed for any of a variety of pumping purposes. For example, where a substance (e.g., hydrocarbons in an earthen formation) does not readily flow responsive to existing natural forces, an ESP may be implemented to artificially lift the substance. If an ESP fails during operation, the ESP must be removed from the pumping environment and replaced or repaired, either of which results in a significant cost to an operator. The ability to predict an ESP failure and/or detect early warning signs, for example by monitoring the operating conditions and parameters of the ESP, provides the operator with the ability to perform preventative maintenance on the ESP or replace the ESP in an efficient manner, reducing the cost to the operator.
Conventional approaches to gauging ESP performance include standard two-dimensional performance curves. FIG. 1 shows typical ESP performance curves. Commonly used two-dimensional curves include head (in height of water column) versus flow rate 102 across the ESP for various rotational speeds, power (hp) versus flow rate 104, and pump efficiency versus flow rate 106. Operators are provided these curves from the manufacturer and performance degradation is measured by the operational envelope or operating point deviating from the standard performance curves. For example, if an operator plots a performance point on any of these plots after operation of the ESP for some time in the field, currently, one of the only ways of gauging performance issues with the ESP is if the operating point deviates or falls below the expected efficiency, or head for a certain flow rate. Alternatively, the expected power requirement (in hp) could be higher (than predicted by the standard performance curve) for the same flow rate.